.300 win mag barrel twist?

[Buckrun]

This is my first post on the new sight. I use to post some on the old GGVG board.

I am building a Rem. 700. I will be chambering it in 300 Win. Mag. The rifle will be used for long range deer hunting in GA. The plan is to use the 168 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip.

I will be ordering a Lilja barrel and have been wondering what twist to use.

I bought a home shop last year and have been learning how to use all the equipment. I started this project in Oct. and have gotten this far.


Here is what I have done so far.
RECEIVER
1. Trued the receiver face and bolt lugs.
2. Ran a 1 1/16” into the receiver threads tap to clean and true the threads. (I don’t know how much good that did but it did cut a little metal.)
3. Installed a new bolt stop spring.
4. Installed a new ejector spring.



BOLT
1. Trued the bolt lugs front back and around the circumference, bolt nose around the circumference of the bolt nose and the bolt face.
2. Jeweled the bolt.
3. Fit a new firing pin and installed a heaver spring.
4. Polished the cocking ramp.

I checked the trigger pull and it came out at 2lb.
Safety works fine I will check it again after everything is finished.

Now I have to decide what stock I am going to use and find out what barrel contour I want. I also need to get my chamber reamer and go no-go gauges. This stuff will end up costing more than double what I paid for the rifle.

Here is a link to a sight where I have posted a lot of pictures of the work.

http://www.homegunsmith.com/cgi-bin/ib3/ikonboard.cgi?;act=ST;f=3;t=19324

What twist will work with the Nosler 168 gr ballistic tip?
I will be getting a H S presision stock. Possabily a Tactical or Pro Series. Which do you think would be best for a "bean field" deer rifle?
Which barrel profile? I really don't want to go with a real heavy barrel.
Steve

[glenn asher]

Either a 10 or 12 twist will work, I'd go 1-10" just because that 168 might not shoot as good as I'd want, and a 180BT might be a tad better WAY out there. A 1-12" MIGHT give better accuracywith that bullet, but not with a wide range of bullets.

Of course, hunting being what it is, the next 20 deer you see will probably be at 50 yards or under..........

[gunsandgunsmithing]

A 1 in 12 twist should stabilize anything up to 190 gr VLD and most 200 grain bullets in a 300 mag. in really cold and dense air. You should be fine IMO with the 12 but the 10 will give you the ability to shoot the really long, heavy VLD type bullets for long range or BIG game bullets. For me, I'd go with the 12. Just my .02 though.---Mike Ezell

[Buckrun]

Ok that is one vote each 1-10 and 1-12. I don't have any plans on a western trip for anything big like elk, moose or big bears. So I really don't think I will be shooting any long heavy bullets.

Unless someone has done this and thinks they would be better for the long shots at deer or antelope.

What would be a good conture for the barrel? I won't be using a buzzle break. I have a .270 Win with the B.O.S.S. and a Marlin 45-70 Guide rifle and I hate shooting them. They are to hard on my ears!

Steve

[Dog Buster]

I'd go 10 twist...pretty much a std 308 twist rate....contour..? Have Lilja copy the factory Rem contour....or you will have a problem fitting the stock you choose...Length ? I'd go 24" min....26" max length...remember you are going to carry this rifle...Fluting will reduce some weight....but not enough to justify the cost...even with a 26" tube muzzle blast from 70 grs of powder going off will be loud w/o ear protection...whats so different..besides 3 grains...with the 165 NBT & the 168 NBT ??

[gonzo gunner]

i have a friend who was using 150 grain bullets in his 30-06. he was hitting deer and just punching right through them. not nocking them down. they would be found about 200 yards from shot sight dead. i told him to try the 180 grainers and they simply put them down in thier tracks. my dad uses a 300 wim mag. it's a winchester model 70. has the smoothest bolt i've ever seen in my life!! he uses 180 grainers. at longer ranges the 180 grain bullets still have more nock down than the 168 grain bullets. te 168's are a little faster, but not as much bullet mass. if i was shooting longer ranges i'd want a heavier bullet. i do like the .300 wim mag as your choice for long range hunting. they are great bean field rifles.

[Rhys]

In most of the .30 cals I have been very happy with and 11" twist. It has done very well up through 190's I just haven't used anything any heavier. If staying with Lilja I would go with their 11" twist 3 groove in about a 5 contour. Barrel will have some spine with out being overly heavy. The other I would look at seriously is a Broughton 11" 5c rifled, 5 contoure. Their barrels have been exceptionaly smooth, break in quickly and shoot very well.

[Buckrun]

i have a friend who was using 150 grain bullets in his 30-06. he was hitting deer and just punching right through them. not nocking them down. they would be found about 200 yards from shot sight dead. i told him to try the 180 grainers and they simply put them down in thier tracks. my dad uses a 300 wim mag. it's a winchester model 70. has the smoothest bolt i've ever seen in my life!! he uses 180 grainers. at longer ranges the 180 grain bullets still have more nock down than the 168 grain bullets. te 168's are a little faster, but not as much bullet mass. if i was shooting longer ranges i'd want a heavier bullet. i do like the .300 wim mag as your choice for long range hunting. they are great bean field rifles.

I have been using 130 gr. ballistic tips in my .270. Every deer I have shot has dropped right where I shot them. From 30 yards to 200 yards.

I also have a 30-06. I started using factory 168 gr partitions. I wasn't happy with them. sometimes the deer would run over 100 yards shot through the heart.

Thinking that I would shoot something lighter and faster, like the .270 would be what I want. So I loaded 150 gr ballistic tips. They wern't much better. May be I should go with something heavier in the ballistic tip. For the 30-06 and the .300 Win Mag.

Keep the comments coming this is great.
Thanks
Steve

[gonzo gunner]

when i used my old .308 savage model 10le i used 168 grain ballistic tips. i loved them. but it's not as fast or hard hitting as the .300 win mag. dad tried 200 grain bullets one year in his .300. it put a hole in the deer you could throw a foot ball through!!! so he went back to 180's. we all neck shoot our deer as well now. the .300 at 100 yards(in the woods) was destroying the entire front shoulders. just to much gun for up close(under 200 yards). but you don't have to worry about a tree branch nocking the bullet off. it just goes right threw them. like i said they are outstanding beanfield rifles. shoot hard and don't drop really bad.

[gunsandgunsmithing]

In most of the .30 cals I have been very happy with and 11" twist. It has done very well up through 190's I just haven't used anything any heavier. If staying with Lilja I would go with their 11" twist 3 groove in about a 5 contour. Barrel will have some spine with out being overly heavy. The other I would look at seriously is a Broughton 11" 5c rifled, 5 contoure. Their barrels have been exceptionaly smooth, break in quickly and shoot very well.

I love the Broughton 5C barrels! Very good finish,easy break-in and cleaning, and yep, they shoot good. Great place to do business with as well.---Mike Ezell

[Buckrun]

I love the Broughton 5C barrels! Very good finish,easy break-in and cleaning, and yep, they shoot good. Great place to do business with as well.---Mike Ezell


Do you have a link to their websight?

Steve

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Do you have a link to their websight?

Steve

http://www.rifle-barrels.com/

[pjracer]

I vote for the 1 in 11. Seems like a good compromise. I have a Sako and if I remember right its 1 in 11. I use berger 190 vlds without any problems.

[James in Asheville]

Steve...1-12 twist #5.5 contour and you can finish it out about 26 or 28"
depending on if you are gonna carry it a lot. I built this rifle last yr and it is a Broughton blank finished 28" that shoots VVGood And yes Broughton is a very good blank and great people to work with. Talk to Tim and tell him I sent ya.
Ok here's a pic
http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/Bobs_300_win_009small.jpg

[Buckrun]

Steve...1-12 twist #5.5 contour and you can finish it out about 26 or 28"
depending on if you are gonna carry it a lot. I built this rifle last yr and it is a Broughton blank finished 28" that shoots VVGood And yes Broughton is a very good blank and great people to work with. Talk to Tim and tell him I sent ya.
Ok here's a thumb pic

How heavy is you rifle? I wish I had a nice stock like that for mine. Mine came with a Ram Line plastic stock. I want to go with something a lot better than that.

What kind of group will it shoot?

Steve

[30378]

You have to ask yourself how committed are you to that specific bullet weight? If going no higher than a 180 grainer, a 1 in 13" will work just fine. Factorys put 1 in 12s in 308s for 200 grainers and 1 in 10s in larger calibers for 200gr+. There are velocity performance gains to be had with a slower 1 in 13 twist. For 150s you can go 1 in 15. There are the really long high BC bullets out there that look more like pencils that will rupture your pocketbook and may not apply to these twists. Over stabilizing a bullet does nothing for accuracy.:D

[jeepster]

I've used the 300 w.m. 24" 1-10 twist since i bought it in 1976, m77 bolt. tried every kind of fodder out, have used 165Gr.bt. from coyotes to black bear,elk,deer. always worked for me,again the pull of the trigger always makes a big diff. good luck,happy hollidays...

[jeepster]

just a question, iv'e always thought things like twist,vel, bullit design, barrell length and so on were in part about stableizing ? just wondering how can you over do it? not trying to be a smart alec, just want to know where and when do you stop trying? is'nt that all part of better acc.? not new to rel, been doing it 45 yrs. give or take, always interested in a new concept, well new to me anyway.

[Buckrun]

Over stabilizing a bullet does nothing for accuracy.:D

I think what he is saying is after the bullet is stabilized it is stabilized. Going to a faster twist to get more stabilizing won't gain anything.

No Nothing is set in stone on the bullets I will be using. I think I will be going with a 1 in 10" or 11" twist just in case I want to try something heavier. But I can't see me shooting anything heavier than the 180 grainers. I like the looks of that 5.5 contour.

Another question about contours.

Do all barrel makers use about the same contours? Example does a #5 contour measure the same from all the makers?

Steve

[30378]

Buckrun, you are dead on to my point. If going with a custom barrel and you are shooting a specific bullet as originally stated, why not maximize total performance? The custom barrel mfgs have proven what rates of twist are required to stabilize specific weight bullets. By using those twist rates as in this instance by using a 1 in 13 you can lower pressures and burn more powder to raise velocity performance. There is no accuracy to be gained by going to a tighter twist with less than 180gr, 30 cal projectiles.:D

Merry Christmas to all!!!!!!!!

[James in Asheville]

How heavy is you rifle? I wish I had a nice stock like that for mine. Mine came with a Ram Line plastic stock. I want to go with something a lot better than that.

What kind of group will it shoot?

Steve

Steve I'll have to dig that info up but it will put em in a hole @ about 3400
with 165's if you drive it straight. I'll get back to you after all the paper quits flying.

[Buckrun]

Steve I'll have to dig that info up but it will put em in a hole @ about 3400
with 165's if you drive it straight. I'll get back to you after all the paper quits flying.


James I had been torn about wether to get a carbon steel or stainless. After seeing your rifle I think I will go with stainless. It was sharp!

Around here I think it would be hard to find someone to blue it for me. I have blueing tanks that I got when I bought the shop. But haven't got them set up and really don't know how to use them yet. One thing at a time.

I think the paper is about to start flying here. The 12 year old daughter is chomping at the bit to get everybody up!:rolleyes:

Steve

[30378]

I shoot 165 Accubonds in my Sendero with 82.5gr of RL-25, Fed 215M primers with 3.36" OAL. No chrony but it gives ragged dot accuracy at 100 yds.:D